Analysts Optimistic About Auto Sales in the US in 2013

Sunday, January 14th, at the Society of Automotive Analysts annual conference in Detroit, analysts and automakers expressed their optimistic expectations regarding the 2013 auto sales.

Last year auto sales in the US reached the highest level since 2007, with 14.4 million units sold, up 13%. For 2013, most analysts and automakers predict that sales will reach 15 million units or even surpass this figure. According to their expectations, the pickup segment will be the one with the biggest market share gain, as new truck models will be introduced this year and the economy continues to rebound.

Citi auto analyst Itay Michaeli says that pickup sales will boost over the next 12 to 18 months and that auto sales this year will reach 15 million units, while auto analyst Jeff Schuster of LMC Automotive expects a 4% increase to 15.1 million vehicles in 2013 and 17 million vehicles by 2018. He added that this increase will be determined by the customers’ need to replace their old cars and the fact that more people move out of their parents’ homes and need their own vehicles.

“We see really stable levels of increase,” Schuster said. “U.S. demand could be a bright spot in 2013 and 2014.”